Fireboy tells Apple Music about his third studio album ‘Playboy’

“It was the Ed Sheeran version first, that’s the one that matters, that’s the first. That’s the one. Everything else was about strategic stuff and all that, but the collaboration was the Ed Sheeran one. My team reached out to me like, “Yo.” Jamal Edwards, rest his soul, very close to Ed Sheeran, played the song to him, sent it to him and he loved the song. He took his stance to write a verse, and then he sent me a DM, and sent me VM of his verse. I’m like, “Yo, Ed Sheeran in this record, this is it.” Ed Sheeran is someone I sonically connect to, I’ve looked up to this man for a long time, for as long as I can remember. He actually made me fall in love with the acoustic guitar, and it really meant a lot to me, not just for me, but for the culture as well, because I knew what it would mean for Afrobeats when the record came out. I’m glad to be at the forefront pushing the culture, pushing the genre, this is a record that will stand the test of time. Years later they’ll say, “Oh, Afrobeats opened up in the United States worldwide, internationally, and Peru by Fireboy is one of those records that made it happen.” I’m just really glad, that’s what we want, to open opportunities and build bridges.”

“[The word “peru” is] also an allusion to a friend of mine, also an artist, Peruzzi. He has uses this tagline in his songs, so I just use it as… it was like a pun, wordplay kind of thing…I was just really telling the story of a young boy who would find himself in a place that he’s never been before. I recorded that song because it was my first time in the United States and I just got off a writer’s block. I just come back from Miami where I had the most beautiful time at a strip club. I think I was near depressed, and I just got to the United States and I just was like, “Wow.” I just made that song out of that feeling, so I think that’s my most spontaneous song I ever made. It was like a 45-minute freestyle.”

“She reached out to me first in 2019 when my first album came out. She was like, “Yo, I love your album, amazing.” “Is this the Madonna? Wow, thank you so much, this means a lot to me,” blah, blah blah, and that was it. Fast forward to 2022, she hit me up on Instagram. “Yo, hey.” I’m like, “Hey, it’s her again, wow!” And she’s like, “I want you to be a part of my classic, one of my classics.” I’m like, “Of course.” Then she sends to me, I’m like, “Of course I know this song!” She was like, yeah, she’s trying to do a remix. I’m like, “Of course, let’s do this,” and then went back and forth on WhatsApp. She’s a perfectionist just like me. Sort of like a control freak in a way too, I like that about her. We went back and forth and did that, and then we linked up to shoot the video. I think the Madonna record and Peru are easily my favorite collaborations, just because of the vibes that was around when we shot the video. Amazing, organic, natural, that is why I never force collaborations, just for moments like that. Some people force collaborations and the video shoot’s always awkward. Nah, nah. It was never like that with Madonna, she’s amazing.”

“Playboy, because over the years I’ve been a very reclusive superstar. You would never run into Fireboy randomly. I only ever got out the house when I had to leave the house, and back home, that’s not how superstars do. You’re supposed to see superstars everywhere in the club randomly like, “Yo, yo, yo.” I’ve always been a homebody, I’ve always been this reclusive, chill person. But I decided that I needed to come out of my shell and actually face the reality that is my life right now. I’m a superstar, I need to enjoy my superstardom. I need to embrace the reality that is my life right now. That’s what it’s about, I’m coming out to play, Playboy.”

“It’s a really big deal. It was a ballsy move for me to be honest. But I just thought, “It’s now or never, man. Just do it.” …the tickets are selling out fast. I’m not sold out yet, but it’s been positive.”